One of the great things about having Verizon FIOS is the money HD channels, inlcuding Showtime. Tomorrow night marks the first night I will be able to watch the #2 MMA promotion in America live, Strikeforce (based out of San Jose, CA). A couple months ago, Strikeforce bought up Elite XC along with their CBS and Showtime contracts, as well as a number of fighter contracts which has turned this regional promotion into a national one. They are putting on their first new card this saturday on Showtime headlined by "The Legend" Frank Shamrock against jiu jitsu ace and all around bad boy Nick Diaz.
A lot of people ask me since I've started blogging about MMA last spring who my favorite fighter is. Many are surprised when I tell them is nobody thats in the UFC. My favorite fighter in MMA is Frank Shamrock, the younger adopted brother of Ken Shamrock. Unlike Ken who's hanging around dangerously long in this sport, Frank has had a much stronger career. He fought in Japan and in the UFC, holding the then Middleweight title (205lbs) and retiring after defeated Tito Ortiz at UFC 22. He tired for about five years then made a comback, winning the Strikeforce middleweight (185lbs) title against Phil Baroni and then have a war last year against Cung Le that still might be my favorite MMA fight of all time. He's also brash, smart, interesting, and original. Shamrock is unlike any fighter out there in his ability to promote himself, his fight, his company, and deliver in the cage. He was MMA's first true mixed martial artists, not a fighter with one strength (like Tank Abbott with striking, Dan Severn and wrestling, Royce Gracie and BJJ, or Ken Shamrock with submissions), he was able to pull all disciplines together.
Nick Diaz will make this a tremendous fight. A legit a#%hole as a person, Diaz nonetheless is an incredibly talented fighter. Tall and rangy, he's a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu where he can murder people on the ground, but he can also stand and trade. Diaz has a penchant for not knocking people out, but throwing punches in bunches replacing all out power for a non-stop attack. But his biggest strength is his submission game. Diaz beat Takanori Gomi when Gomi was still the top lightweight in the world with a gogoplata submission (its unreal), and that is something Shamrock will have to deal with. Diaz is a real volatile guy, he's willing to talk smack, take everything personally, and fight anyone. His is also a triatholete in amazing condition who can stand and fight with anyone. This should be just a tremendous battle.
So if your looking for a good show with up and coming fighters, as well as great fighters in their prime not in the UFC, check this show out on Showtime.
MAIN CARD (BEGINNING AT 7:00PM - PST):
- Frank Shamrock (23-9-2) vs. Nick Diaz (18-7) – 3X5 – 179lbs (Catch Weight)
- Gilbert Melendez (14-2) vs. Rodrigo Damm (8-2)
- Scott “Hands of Steel” Smith (14-5) vs. Benji “Razor” Radach (19-4) – 3X5 – Middleweights
- Chris “Cyborg” Santos (6-1) vs. Hitomi “Girlfight Monster” Akano (14-5) – 3X5 – 140lbs
- Brett “Grimm” Roger (8-0) vs. Abongo Humphrey (12-0) – 3X5 - Heavyweights
Hello. That's very nice site but I've seen this before here http://text.inguaro.com/3b71839376ee3ae50aafda9090c5d804
3b71839376ee3ae50aafda9090c5d804
Posted by: Dakota | April 14, 2009 at 06:42 PM
shamrock is the my favourite fighter
Posted by: MMA | July 16, 2009 at 02:31 AM